FIEST  SEEIES  No.  7  JUNE  1917 


UNIVERSITY  OF  IOWA 
MONOGRAPHS 


HUMANISTIC  STUDIES 


VOLUME  I  NUMBER  6 


AN  ANALYSIS 

OF  THE  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  THE 
FINNSBURG  DOCUMENTS 

BY 

NELLIE  SLAYTON  AURNER 


Published  by  the  University,  Iowa  City 


ISSUED  MONTHLY  THROUGHOUT  THE  YEAR.     ENTERED  AT  THE 
POSTOFFICE   AT   IOWA  CITY  AS    SECOND   CLASS    MAIL   MATTER 


IN  THE  SERIES  OF  RESEARCH  BULLETINS  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 


HUMANISTIC  STUDIES 

Franklin  H.  Potter,  A.  M.  Editor 
VOLUME  I  NUMBER  6 


AN  /ANALYSIS 

OF  THE  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  THE 
FINNSBURG  DOCUMENTS 

BY 

Nellie  Slayton  Aurner,  M.  A. 
Instructor  in  English 


Pttbushed  by  the  University,  Iowa  City 


AN  ANALYSIS 

OF  THE  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  THE 
FINNSBURG  DOCUMENTS 


Introduction 

Bibliographies  of  Beowulf  are  sufficiently  numerous  and 
complete ;  there  are  also  fairly  satisfactory  lists  of  translations 
and  studies  of  the  Finnsburg  PVagment;  but  apparently  no  one  as 
yet  has  attempted  to  cull  out  from  the  unwieldy  mass  of  Beo- 
wulf material  such  articles  as  deal  with  the  Finn  episode  and, 
by  bringing  them  into  proper  relation  with  the  works  on  the 
fragment,  furnish  the  materials  for  an  intelligent  resume  of 
what  scholarship  has  accomplished  toward  solving  the  Finnsburg 
problem. 

Such  a  resume  ought  to  be  indispensable  for  a  thoroughly 
critical  study  of  the  Finnsburg  documents.  It  will  contain 
inevitably  much  that  will  be  found  useless  when  a  satisfactory 
solution  is  arrived  at,  but  until  that  time  it  is  unscientific  and 
unsafe  to  pass  by  without  due  consideration  any  sincere  attempt 
to  throw  light  upon  this  very  obscure  portion  of  our  early  litera- 
ture. 

In  his  recently  published  edition  of  Widsith,  Mr.  Chambers 
says:  "Modern  scholarship  has  been  rather  too  ready  to  dis- 
miss the  conclusions  of  earlier  students  without  sufficiently 
examining  the  facts  from  which  those  conclusions  were  drawn. 
Each  of  these  earlier  critics  based  his  work  upon  a  careful  study 
of  his  predecessors'  investigations."  It  is  only  by  such  gradual 
evolution  of  opinion,  he  concludes,  that  theories  of  permanent 
value  can  be  gained. 

More  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  Professor  IQuge  de- 
clared: "A  consideration  and  criticism  of  all  former  views 
would  bring  the  difficult  places  more  into  the  foreground,  spare 
unnecessary  reflections  over  long  solved  problems,  and  remove 
the  danger  of  repeating  what  has  already  been  said."    He  then 


4  THE  FINNSBURG  DOCUMENTS 

quotes  Sievers'  lament  that  it  is  no  longer  easy  to  look  over 
entirely  the  rich  literature.  If  this  Avas  true  thirty  years  ago  it 
is  doubly  true  to-day,  and  it  was  the  hope  of  rendering  a  help- 
ful service  in  this  respect  that  led  to  the  compilation  of  the  fol- 
lowing bibliography  with  its  accompanying  summary  and 
analysis. 

The  Finnsburg  materials  are  gathered  from  three  sources: 
a  fragment  of  forty-eight  lines,  known  as  the  "Fight  at  Finns- 
burg", an  episode  in  the  poem  of  Beowulf  (lines  1063-1159), 
and  several  references  in  Widsith, 

EARLY  DESCRIPTIVE   ACCOUNTS 

The   fragment   describing  the  fight  was  discovered   by   Dr. 
George  Hickes  in  a  manuscript  volume  of  homilies  belonging  to 
the  Archiepiscopal  Library  of  Lambeth.'     He  transcribed  and 
published  it  without  a  translation,  in  his  * '  Thesaurus  Linguarum 
Septentrionalium"  in  1705.    This  same  work  includes  Wanley's 
Catalogue  which  gives  the  first  public  mention  of  the  poem  Beo- 
w^ulf.    Wanley's  description^  indicates  that  he  knew  practically 
nothing  of  the  poem,  which  remained  without  further  notice  un- 
til 1805  when  Sharon  Turner  in  his  "History  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons"  gave  several  extracts.     Among  these  extracts  is  found 
the  first  printed  reference  to  the  nature  of  the  Finnsburg  story : 
"the  poet  of  Hrothgar 
behind  the  table  of  mead, 
recorded  the  expedition  against  the  Finns. 
"This   episode   is  rather  long.      The   enterprise   ended   in    the 
capture  of  the  king  and  queen  of  the  Finns."' 


'Hickes'  "Thesaurus:"  "Fragmenti  poetici  singulare  folium,  in  codice 
Ms.  homiliarum  Semi-Saxonicarum  qui  extat  in  Bibliotheca  Lambethana. " 

'"IX.  fol.  130.  Tractatus  nobilissimus  Poetiee  scriptus.  Praefationis  hoc 
est  initium. " 

Then  follows  the  text  of  the  first  nineteen  lines. 

"Initium  autem  primi  capitis  sic  se  habet. "   (Text  11.5.'?-73). 

"In  hoc  libro,  qui  Poeseos  Anglo-Saxonicae  egregium  est  exemplum, 
descripta  videntur  bella  quae  Beowulfus  quidam  Danus  ex  regia  Scyldeng- 
orum  stirpe  ortus,  gcssit  contra  Sueciae  regulos. ' ' 

*Sharon  Turner,  "History  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,"  6th  ed.,  Vol.  Ill,  p. 
304.  In  a  note  on  p.  308,  evidently  not  in  the  1805  edition,  the  editor 
adds:     "The  short  fragment  on  the  battle  of  Finnsburuh  in  the  Exeter 


SHAEON  TUENEE  —  THOEKELIN  3 

There  is  nothing  in  his  extracts,  and  certainly  nothing  in  the 
above  comment,  to  indicate  tliat  he  knew  of  the  Finnsburg  frag- 
ment. Even  in  the  note  on  this  fragment  inserted  in  later  edi- 
tions he  does  not  connect  it  with  the  episode. 

FIRST  ATTEMPT  AT  INTERPRETATION 

The  first  serious  attempt  toward  an  interpretation  of  the  epi- 
sode was  that  of  Thorkelin  in  his  Latin  translation  accompanying 
the  text  published  in  1815.  The  valuable  assistance  he  rendered 
Old  English  scholarship  by  his  transcripts  taken  in  1786  before 
the  fire  which  injured  the  original  manuscript  belongs  properly 
to  the  history  of  Beowulf  criticism.^  His  translation  of  the 
episode  indicates  a  very  limited  knowledge  both  of  the  language 
and  of  Teutonic  custom.  He  understands  the  episode  as  an  ac- 
count of  a  naval  expedition  undertaken  by  Hrothgar  against 
Finn,  the  king  of  the  Frisians.  The  only  advance  from  Sharon 
Turner  in  his  general  conception  is  his  recognition  of  Finn  as  a 
proper  name  and  his  establishing  him  as  ruler  of  the  Frisians. 
He  construes  tlie  distribution  of  rings  and  treasure  in  the  mead 
hall  as  the  paying  of  tribute  by  Finn ;  he  makes  Finn  promise  to 
rule  by  lieutenants,  "  Quaestoribus  regeret",  a  purely  Roman 
idea;  and  he  fails  to  see  that  Hna?f  and  Hengest  are  proper 
names.  The  father  of  Hildeburg  appears  in  the  index  as 
' '  Hother, '  '^  and  is  characterized  thus :  ' '  contra  Danos  pugnat. ' ' 
His  rendering  of  the  episode''  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 
The  courtiers  rejoiced  when  the  poet  of  Hrothgar  called  to 
mind  how   the   army   of  the   Half-danes   overcame   in   Frisian 


Ms.  is,  like  Beowulf,  rather  romance  than  history.  Mr.  W.  Conjbeare  has 
inserted  it  in  his  illustrations,  with  a  Latin  translation  and  a  pleasing  imi- 
tation in  English  verse. ' ' 

'Wiilker's  "Grundriss,"   p.   45;    also   pp.   251-252.      Tinker's   "Transla- 
tions of  Beowulf,"  pp.  15-21. 

'Probably  read  into  this  text  from  Saxo-Grammatious. 

'Thorkelin  's  translation : 

Ibi   erat   cantus   et   instrumenta  Super  medi  niensia 

Invieem  juneti  Memorare   debuit 

Coram    Halfdani  Cum  Finni  prole, 

Exercitus  duce  Ubi  earn   navali   expeditione  tactam 

Faucium  orgauis  salutato.  Miles  Halfdanides 

Elogiis   jugiter   exercitia.  Robor  Scyldingorum 

Deinde  aulicis  ludum  Frisica  strage 

Hrodgari  poeta  Prostravit. 


«  THE  FINNSBURG  DOCUMENTS 

slaughter  the  race  of  Finn.  Hildeburg  sorrowed  at  the  sight  of 
her  slaughtered  kinsmen.  Finn,  in  order  to  preserve  the 
wretched  remnant  of  his  followers,  offered  to  yield  to  the  con- 
queror all  the  remaining  dwellings,  a  hall  and  throne,  and  to 
bring  him  gifts  of  money.  A  treaty  was  thus  agreed  upon. 
Finn,  taking  the  oath,  is  characterized  as  "crafty  in  mind".  The 
passage  which  describes  the  burning  of  those  fallen  in  war  seems 
to  have  been  fairly  well  understood.  At  the  close  of  this  cere- 
mony a  warrior,  apparently  Finn,  set  forth  to  visit  Frisia,  the 
dwellings  and  the  chief  city  lying  by  the  sea,  now  red  with 


Nequidem  Hildeburga 

Gloriari  opus  habuit. 

Jutorum  foedus 

Injuste  fuit 

Fractum  adversus  dominum. 

In  eos  bellum  susceptum 

Et  liberos,  fratresque 

Genere  juuctos. 

Euebant  tela  per  vulnera 

Id  fuit  luctu 

Foeminae,  baud  quaquam 

Sine  causa,  Hoteri  filiae. 

Divinum  per   limites 

Postquam  mane  venit, 

Tunc  ilia  sub  aethere 

Videre  potuit 

Caedem  perniciosam  eognatis, 

Ibi  olim  maximo  habitis 

Mundano  gaudio. 

Mavors  omnes  abstulit 

Finni  phalanges, 

Exceptis  paueis  aliquibus, 

Ne  posset 

In  loco  praestituto 

Bello  maritime 

Aliquem  oppugnare. 

Ne  miseros  superstites 

Interneeione  delerent 

Regis  satrapae, 

Ille  Regi 

In  reconciliationem  obtulit,  quod 

Illi  residuas  mansiones 

Omnes  cederet 

Aulam  et  thronum 

Quod  dimidiam  potestatem 

Cum  Jutorum   llberis 

Possideret ; 

Et  dona  pecuniaria 

Imponeret  praestanda  cite 

Die  quoquis. 

Dani  ditarunt 

Classem 

Annulis  exspectatis, 

Addita  insuper  valde 

Divite  gaza 


Gravi  auro. 

Ita  ille  Frisonum  genus 

In  triclinio 

Confirmare  voluit. 

Tunc  conventio  inita 

Ab  utraque  parte, 

Firmata  libero  foedere. 

Finnus  maritimus 

Animo  vafer 

Jurejurando  decrevit : 

Quod    miseros    superstitea 

Sapientum   consilio 

Quaestoribus   regeret : 

Quod  quaestor  ullus  aliquem 

Nee  verbis  nee  factis 

Lacesceret,  cogeretve : 

Nee  per  fraudem  dolumve 

Aliquando  excogitatum, 

Dum  sui  annulorum 

Datoris  signa  sequeretur, 

Domino  infidus  esset, 

Ubi  ejus  indigeret: 

Si  inde  Frisonum  alicuius 

Nefandus  dictu 

Caedis  aestus  fervidus 

Animum  subierit, 

Tune  gladii  acie 

Poena   sumeretur. 

Jusjurandum  praestitum  fuit, 

Et  insuper  aurum 

Elatum  ex  thesauro. 

Exereitus   Scyldingorum 

Praestantissimi  milites 

Affuerunt  caedi  assueti 

Ad  istud  jusjurandum, 

Facile  visi 

Sanguine  tinctis  loricis 

Cristis  porcinis  omnibus   auratis. 

Superstiti   ferrum    durum 

Nobili  multo 

Vulnera  inflixerat: 

Alii  strage  occubuere. 

Rogavit  tunc  Hildeburga 

Ad  caesorum  rogum 

Suorummet  flliorum 


THORKELIN  'S  INTERPRETATION 


slaughter.  Concealing  his  wretchedness,  he  passed  the  winter 
w^th  the  enemy,  secretly  meditating  plans  of  vengeance.  With 
the  coming  of  spring  he  judged  the  time  opportune  for  a  sea 
journey  (probably  in  quest  of  allies)  that  would  enable  him  to 
carry  out  the  plan  he  had  determined  upon.  Thus  he  did  not 
dishonor  his  rank,  when  the  son  of  Hunlaf  buried  the  gleaming 
sword  in  his  bosom.  Guthlaf  and  Oslaf  grieved  over  this  attack 
after  the  sea  journey  and  w  ere  unable  to  retain  courage  in  the 
heart  after  such  a  loss.  An  account  of  the  devastation  of  Finn's 
country,  the  pillage  of  his  castle,  and  the  carrying  away  of  the 
queen  closes  the  episode. 


Sveonum.   phalanges 
Tradita  corpora 

Cremare,  et  incendio  consuraere 
Brachia  et  humeros. 
Foemina   moerebat ; 
Gemebat  epicediis 
Militem  sublatum. 
Ivere  in  nubes 
Stragis  ignes  maximi 
Strepentes  juxta  acervum; 
Congeriem  onmem  liquefecere- 
Vulnerum  portae  disruptae  sunt : 
Inde  prosiluit   sanguis. 
Inviso  morsu  cadavera 
Flamma  universa  glutivit 
Entium  voracissima,  eorum 
Quos  ibi  mavors  abstulit: 
Utriusque  gentis  erat 
Militare   rubor    (sic)    eoncussum. 
XVII 
Discessit   tunc 
Bellator  castris 
Visitatum,  cognatis 
Caesis,  Frisiam: 
Visum   mansiones 
et  metropolem  niaritiraam 
Adhuc  strage  rutilam. 
Iliemem  transegit 
Cum  hoste  miyeria  tecto. 
Patriae   meminit 
Tamen,  ut  posset 
Per  mare  persequi 
Indictam  expeditionem. 
Mare   tempest  ate   aestuabat 
Luctans  contra  ventum. 
Hiems  aquas  clausit 
Glacie  constrictas, 
Donee   alter   veniret 
Annus  in  mundum 
Ut  hue  usque  faeit. 
Cum  continua 
Mansiones    revidisset 
Gloriosa  sereni  aeris  temperies, 
Tunc  fuit  hiems  exeussa 
Pulcro  terrae  gremio : 


Interdicto  exulem 

Hospitem  terra 

iSollicite  expulit. 

Magis  opportunum  judicavit 

Id  tempus  maritimo  itiueri, 

Ut  iratum  consilium 

Exsequi   posset, 

Quod  in  Jutorum  genus 

Secum  statuerat. 

Tta  nee   degeneravit 

Vitae  statu, 

Dum  Hunlafidis 

Bellonae  jubaris 

Ferrum  optimum 

In  pectus  immersit. 

Hoc  erat  inter  Jutos 

Etiam  notum. 

Ita  animo  periculosum 

Finnum  rursus  oppressit 

Kusis  jjernicie  lapsuni 

Apud  ejus  propriam  domum. 

Ex  quo   diro   impetu 

Gudlafus   et   Oflavus 

Post  maritmum  iter 

Dolorem    animo    conceperunt- 

Exprobratum  miseris,  quod 

Non  ullo  modo  possent 

Vafrum  animum 

Tenere  in  peetore. 

Tune  aula  fuit  evaeuata 

Hostium    vitis, 

Insuper   Finnus   occisus 

Rex  inter  multos, 

Et  ipsa  regina  capta. 

Cito  Seyldingi 

Ad  naves  portarunt, 

Omni  oecupata 

Terra  regis, 

Quae  in  Finni  domo 

In  venire  potuerunt 

Monilia  gemmis  proetiosa. 

Itinere  maritimo 

Regalem  foeminam 

Ad  Danes  eundu 

Duxerunt. 


8  THE  FINNSBURG  DOCUMENTS 

Tliorkelin  makes  no  mention  of  the  fragment,  although  it  had 
been  published  the  preceding  year  (1814)  in  the  British  Bib- 
liographer,'' text,  with  literal  Latin  and  metrical  English  trans- 
lation, as  a  contribution  by  J.  J.  Conybeare. 

GRUNDTVIG  'S    TRANSLATION 

In  1820  appeared  the  important  translation  of  Grundtvig.' 
According  to  Wiilker''  this  work  contained,  in  addition  to  his 
free,  rhymed  translation,  notes  in  wliich  many  nnstakes  of 
Thorkelin  were  corrected  and  emendations  of  his  own  proposed. 
His  introduction  included  the  Fight  at  Finnsburg,  the  original 
text  with  a  translation.  The  publication  of  the  fragment  in  this 
volume  seems  to  indicate  that  Grundtvig  was  aware  of  its  close 
connection  with  the  Finn  episode.  In  the  edition  of  1865  he 
makes  it  part  of  his  translation  of  the  episode,  inserting  it  in  the 
middle  of  line  1108.  His  understanding  of  the  whole  may  be 
summarized  as  follows : 

Finn  was  defeated  in  a  battle  with  Hengest.  So  few  war- 
riors remained  to  him  that  he  offered  as  terms  of  truce  a  castle 
and  half  his  kingdom  to  the  conquerors.  With  gold  and  with 
smooth  words  Finn  made  them  feel  safe.  Before  his  champions 
he  swore  a  solemn  oath.  Hengest  also  swore  from  the  depths  of 
his  heart  to  punish  any  violation  of  the  compact.  There  was 
taking  of  oaths  and  glittering  of  gold,  but  King  Finn  concealed 
a  heart  full  of  falsehood.  The  fragment,  in^serted  at  this  point, 
describes  the  surprise  of  the  night  attack  and  the  brave  defense, 
how  the  warriors  fought  for  Hnasf  five  days  without  letting  their 
liands  fall  or  forsaking  the  doors,  so  that  he  himself  was  the 
first  to  turn  away  with  a  fatal  wound. 

The  building  of  the  funeral  pyre  and  the  burning  of  the  fal- 
len heroes  is  made  to  follow  the  conclusion  of  the  fragment. 
Hengest  lingered  in  his  high  hall  throughout  the  winter  while 
ice  and  storm  struggled  with  tlie  winds,  but  when  spring  came  he 
no  longer  needed  to  tarry.  Burning  with  anger  he  wished  to 
carry  out  his  Avarlike  plans  and  pay  to  the  last  part  his  debt  to 
the  Eotens.  Then  Hunlav's  son  quickly  put  on  his  good  sword; 
the  blade  that  from  its  first  exploit  was  known  to  all  the  Eotens 
was  now  with  its  shining  edges  to  cleave  Finn,  the  bold  dastard, 

''The  British  Bibliographer,  by  Sir  Egerton  Brydfjes  and  Joseph  Hasle- 
wood.  Vol  IV,  printed  for  R.  Triphook,  St.  James  Street,  by  T.  Bensley, 
1814.     Pp.  261-267. 

"Nik.  Fred.  Sev.  Grundtvig,  "Bjowulfs-Drape."     Kj0benhavn,  1820. 

•Wiilker 's  *  *  Grundriss, "  p.  46. 


GRUNDTVia  — CONYBEARE  9 

in  his  own  home.  Gudlav  and  Oslav  lost  no  time.  They  painted 
the  king's  hall  purple  red  with  the  blade,  and  King  Finn  now- 
met  his  death  in  the  midst  of  the  Scylding  circle. 

To  Grundtvig  belongs  the  credit  of  pointing  out  for  the  first 
time  many  important  features  of  Beowulf.^"  He  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  to  connect  the  two  important  documents  of  the 
Finnsburg  story;  he  recognized  Hengest  and  Hnaiif  as  proper 
names  and  placed  Gudlaf  and  Oslaf  in  their  proper  relation  as 
enemies  rather  than  retainers  of  Finn.  He  saw  in  tlie  story  as  a 
whole  a  typical  Germanic  feud, — a  carefully  planned  and  suc- 
cessfully executed  scheme  of  vengeance  instead  of  a  Viking  raid 
for  booty. 

ENGLISH   TRANSLATIONS  AND  CRITICISMS   BEFORE   KEMBLE 

In  England  Grundtvig 's  translation  of  Beowulf  was  appar- 
ently not  known' ^  until  after  many  of  his  discoveries  had  been 
independently  established  by  English  scholars.  John  Josias  Cony- 
beare,  appointed  to  the  professorship  of  Anglo-Saxon  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford  in  the  year  1809,'-  had  long  been  interested 
in  the  early  history  of  English  poetry.  His  publication  of  the 
Fight  at  Finnsburg,  with  translation,  in  1814,  was  made  at  a 
time — to  use  his  own  words''* — when  "the  author  had  enjoyed 
no  opportunity  of  consulting  the  parallel  narrative  recorded  in 
the  poem  of  Beowulf."  Tlie  glow  of  this  discovery  evidently 
influenced  his  reading  of  other  poetic  remains,  for  he  continues : 
"If  the  editor  is  not  deceived,  the  fragment  in  the  Exeter  Ms. 
describing  a  ruined  city  once  the  abode  of  Eotens,  entirely 
desolated  by  war  and  fire,  probably  relates  to  the  same  destruc- 


"See  the  "Translations  of  Beowulf"  by  C.  B.  Tinker  (1903),  pp.  22  ff. 
Professor  Tinker  says:  "Grundtvig  was  the  first  to  understand  the  story 
of  Beowulf.  With  no  other  materials  than  Thorkelin  's  edition  of  the  text 
and  his  own  knowledge  of  (Jernuuiic  mythology,  he  discovered  the  sea-bur- 
ial of  King  Scyld,  the  swimming-match  and  the  Finn  episode.  He  identi- 
fied Breca,  Husf,  Hengest,  King  Hrethel,  and  other  characters  whose 
names  Thorkelin  had  filched  from  them. ' ' 

"Tinker's  "Translations  of  Beowulf,"  p.  28:  "The  book  fell  dead  from 
the  press.  Grundtvig  himself  tells  us  that  it  was  hardly  read  outside  his 
own  house.  ("Beowulf's  Beorh,"  p.  xix).  Thirty  years  later  he  learned 
that  the  book  had  never  reached  the  Royal  Library  at  Stockholm.  A  copy 
made  its  way  to  the  British  Museum,  but  it  was  the  one  which  Grundtvig 
himself  carried  thither  in  1S29. ' ' 

"Conybeare's  "Illustrations,"  p.  iii  of  prefatory  notice. 

"Conybeare'a  "Illustrations,"  p.  174, 


10  THE  FINNSBURG  DOCUMENTS 

tion  of  Finsburh."  His  understanding  of  the  story  is  as 
follows  :^^ 

"The  history  .  ,  .  appears  to  be  .  ,  .  that  of  a 
war  between  the  Danish  Scyldings  then  subject  to  Healfdane, 
and  led  by  his  thane  Heugest,  and  the  Frisian  Eotens  or  Jutes, 
whose  king  Fin,  the  son  of  Folcwald  is  besieged  in  his  royal  city, 
called  from  himself  Finsham  or  Finsburh. 

"In  the  poem  of  Beowulf  the  minstrel  commences  his  song 
on  this  subject  by  describing  the  grief  of  Hildeburh,  who  seems 
to  have  been  the  queen  of  Fin,  and  whose  son  Hnaef  had  been 
slain  in  a  battle  issuing  in  the  defeat  of  her  husband  and  followed 
by  an  inglorious  treaty,  in  which  he  was  obliged  to  surrender 
half  his  dominions,  and  pay  ample  tribute.  The  queen  obtains 
leave  to  celebrate  the  obsequies  of  her  son ;  and  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  age  commits  his  body  to  the  flames.  It  should 
further  appear  that  the  teiins  of  this  treaty  were  violated  by 
Fin;  for  we  find  that  after  the  interval  of  a  winter,  when  the 
sea  Avas  again  fit  for  navigation,  Hengest  undertook  a  second 
expedition  against  the  city  of  Fin,  who  fell  in  its  defence,  his 
queen  being  led  captive  to  Denmark  in  the  victor's  train." 

In  the  additional  notes  of  William  Daniel  Conybeare,  who 
collected  and  edited  the  materials  left  unfinished  by  the  death 
of  his  brother,  John  Josias,  attention  is  called^^  in  a  note  on  the 
Finn  episode  to  the  critical  work  of  "the  ingenious  scholar  who 
has  conducted  the  new  edition  of  Warton's  'History  of  English 
Poetry '. ' '  Conybeare  gives  him  credit  for  satisfactorily  proving 
"the  subject  of  this  episode  to  be  identical  with  that  of  the  frag- 
ment of  the  battle  of  Finsburh.''  The  edition  referred  to  is  that 
of  1824,  and  the  "ingenious  scholar"  who  contributed  what 
Conybeare  characterized  as  "the  equally  amusing  and  learned 
preface"  was  Richard  Price,  lawyer,  philologist,  and  antiquary, 
whose  wide  knowledge  of  German  and  Scandinavian  literature 
received  tributes  from  such  men  as  Thorkelin,  J.  Grimm,  and 
Thorpe. 

Price  believed  that  tlio  Sigemund  story  in  much  greater  detail 
formed  the  original  song  of  the  scop,^*^  but  that  this  lay  was 
"transported  from  its  proi)er  place  to  make  way  for  an  episode 
on  the  exploits  of  Hengest,  inserted  at  p.  82,  ed.  Thorkelin." 


"Conybeare 's  "Illustrations,"  p.  173. 
"Conj'beare  's  ' '  Illustrations, ' '  p.  161. 

"Warton's  "History  of   English  Poetry,"   New   Edition,   1824,  Vol.   I, 
p.  96. 


PRICE  —  KEMBLE  11 

"The  subject  of  this  latter  document  is  evidently  taken  from  a 
larger  poem  of  which  a  fragment  has  been  published  by  Hickes, 
and  is  known  under  the  name  of  the  Battle  of  Finsburh.  In 
Beowulf  the  actors  are  Fin,  Hnaef,  Hengest,  Guthlaf,  and  Oslaf ; 
in  the  fragment  the  same  names  occur  with  the  substitution  of 
Ordlaf  for  Oslaf.  The  scene  in  either  piece  is  Finnesham,  or 
Finnesburh,  the  residence  of  the  before  mentioned  Fin.  That  in 
these  we  have  an  allusion  to  the  founder  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Kent  and  not  to  a  purely  fabulous  personage  of  the  same  name 
will  be  rendered  probable  on  recollecting  that  the  events  recorded 
contain  no  admixture  of  marvelous  matter.  Both  productions 
are  clearly  of  the  same  historical  class,  and  written  in  the  same 
sober  spirit  with  the  fragment  of  Brythnoth." 

KEMBLE  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS 

In  the  work  of  J.  M.  Kemble"'  the  Finnsburg  materials  were  for 
the  first  time  brought  together  and  given  the  critical  treatment  of 
modem  scholarship.  Kemble  was  a  student  and  admirer  of 
Jacob  Grimm  to  whom  his  volumes  on  Beowulf  are  dedicated. 
According  to  the  "Dictionary  of  National  Biography"  he  was 
the  recognized  exponent  of  the  new  science  of  comparative  phil- 
ology in  England.  In  his  preface  to  Volume  P^  he  suggested 
that  "the  Battle  of  Finsburh"  might  be  "a  distorted  record  of 
Froda  the  IV 's  victorious  inroad  into  Old  Saxony,  which  ended 
with  the  death  of  the  Frisian  Hnaef  near  Hanover. ' '''  The  same 
volume^"  groups  under  Frisians: 

"Fin,  the  son  of  Folcwalda  (of.  Traveller's  Song)  ;  his  queen 
was  Hildeburh,  the  descendant  of  Hoce ;  and  her  son  Hnaef,  slain 
in  battle  against  Halfdane.  Holinga,  very  liberally  given  to 
Hnaef  as  his  wife  by  some  commentators,  is  not  a  lady  but  an  ad- 
verb. A  Hunlafing  is  mentioned  as  the  slayer  of  Hengest,  but 
this  may  be  only  a  patronymic  denoting  Fin;  Oslaf  and  Gu'Slac 
revenged  this  murder  by  the  slaughter  of  Fin,  the  destruction  of 
his  city  and  the  abduction  of  his  treasury  and  queen  to  Den- 
mark." '  '  *fr^'fJl 

His  conception  appears  to  have  undergone  certain  changes  in 
Volume  II.    He  says  :*' 


"Kemble  published  three  editions:   in  1833,  1835,  and  1837.    (Cf.  Tink- 
er's "Translations  of  Beowulf,"  p.  33.) 

Quotations  from  this  work  are  from  the  1837  edition. 

»P.  xxvi. 

"Cf.  Elton's  "Saxo  Grammaticus, "  pp.  231-232. 

"Kemble 's  "Beowulf,"  Vol.  I,  p.  260. 

"Kemble 'b  "Beowulf,"  Vol.  II,  p.  xlviii. 


12  THE  FINNSBURG  DOCUMENTS 

*  ■'  Hengist,  Avho  cannot  have  been  a  Dane  is  a  Frisian  hero,  ap- 
pears as  such  in  the  genealogy  of  the  kings  of  Kent,  and  is  the 
fabled  conqueror  of  Britain.  The  Hocings,  it  is  also  probable, 
were  a  Frisian  tribe.  The  legend  as  it  stands  in  Beowulf,  when 
compared  with  the  Battle  of  Finnesburh,  is  that  Hnfef,  assisted 
by  Hengist,  Oslaf  and  Guthlaf,  with  other  heroes,  attacks  the  city 
of  Finn  but  falls  in  the  contest.  Finn  is  however  defeated,  and 
deprived  of  half  his  kingdom,  which  appears  to  be  occupied  by 
Hengist 's  Danes  and  by  the  Hocings;  and  if,  as  I  believe,  Hilde- 
burh  is  Finn's  queen,  and  a  different  person  from  Hoce's  daugh- 
ter, Hnfef's  mother,  he  loses  a  son  also,  who  is  sacrificed  on 
Hnaef's  funeral  pile.  Hengist,  remaining  among  the  Frisians, 
is,  in  the  following  year,  set  upon  and  slain  b}^  Finn,  who  being 
in  consequence  attacked  by  the  Danes  under  Guthlaf  and  Oslaf, 
loses  his  life  and  crown  in  the  contest." 

Kemble's  interpretation  shaped  the  general  conception  of  the 
Finnsburg  story  until  the  appearance  of  Thorpe's  edition  of  Beo- 
wulf in  1855,  and  its  main  features  were  restated  and  received 
new  life  when  Grein's  study  (in  Ebert's  Jahrbuch^^)  appeared 
in  1862.  There  were,  however,  many  minor  variations.  In 
Germany  Franz  Joseph  IMone,^''  while  following  the  main  outlines 
of  Kemble,  regarded  the  tale  as  another  treatment  of  the  Gud- 
run  theme.  Hildeburg  in  the  Finn  episode  is  the  daughter  of 
Hoke,  in  Gudrun  of  Hagen.  In  the  fragment  he  saw  Ordlaf  as 
another  form  of  Ortliep,  Guthere  of  Gunther,  Eaha  of  Hugo, 
and  Sigeferd  of  Sigfrit.  The  whole  passage  presents  a  hall-fight 
as  in  the  Nibelungen.  In  the  hall  of  Finnsburg  Hengest,  in  the 
hall  of  Etzelburg  Hagen  is  the  chief  hero.  The  Finnsburg  hall 
has  two  doors.  Sigfrit  and  Hugo  guard  one,  Ortliep  and  Gunt- 
liep  the  other.  The  hall  gleams  with  swords ;  in  the  Nibelungen- 
lied  a  fiery  wind  comes  from  the  blades.  There  is  a  bloody  feast 
(Gastmal)  in  Finnsburg  as  in  Etzelburg.  The  heroes  Ortliep, 
Sigfrit,  Gunther,  Hagen,  and  perhaps  also  Garulf  (Wolfhart) 
are  common  to  both  battles.  Sigfi-it  as  vassal  to  the  Secges  is 
only  to  be  understood  by  the  family  alliteration,  "Sig",  in  the 
Nibelungen  and  by  the  lie  in  Avhich  he  is  represented  to  Brun- 


^Chr.  Grein,  "Die  historischen  Verhaltnisse  des  Beowulfliedes. "  Ebert's 
Jahrbuch,  IV,  269-271. 

**Franz   Joseph    Mone,    "  Untersuehungen   zur   Geschichte    der    deutschen 
Heldensage,"    1836,  pp.  134-136. 


MONE  —  WACKERBAETH  13 

hild  as  a  vassal  of  Gunther.  Only  with  this  Sigfrit  fits  the  great 
fame  which  the  fragment  also  assigns  him. 

One  can  hardly  fail  to  acknowledge,  Mone  maintained,  that 
the  Fight  at  Finnsburg  contains  some  of  the  principal  features  of 
the  Nibelungenlied,  either  that  it  is  borrowed  from,  or  is  of 
similar  origin  with,  the  German  saga ;  the  latter  he  thought  more 
probable. 

Mone  also  regarded  the  Ruined  City  as  a  lament  over  Finns- 
burg and  believed  that  it  belonged  to  the  fragment. 

Leo,^*  Ettmiiller,-^'  Klipstein,*^  and  Schaldemose-^  follow  Kem- 
ble  very  closely.  Wackerbarth^''  also  restates  his  outline  of 
events,  differing,  however,  in  two  details :''  "I  am  not  aware." 
he  says,  "that  any  writer  states  Hengist  the  first  King  of  Kent 
to  have  died  in  Friesland,  whereas  Matthew  of  Westminster 
{ad  an.  489)  declares  that,  being  defeated  and  made  prisoner  by 
Aurelius  Ambrosius,  he  was  at  the  instance  of  Eldad,  Bishop  of 
Gloucester  beheaded."     Tn   a  note  on   line   1115,  he  remarks: 


"H.  Leo,  ' '  Beowiilf ,  dasz  alteste  deutsche,  in  angelsachsischer  Mundart 
erhaltene,  HeMengedieht  nach  seinem  Tnhalte  imd  naoh  seinen  historipphen 
und  mythologisehen  Beziehungen  betrachtet.  Ein  Beitrag  zur  Geschichte 
alter  deutscher  Geisteszustande. "  pp.  79-88.  Leo  translates  the  Finn  episode 
entire  as  "die  spraehlieh  sohwiericfste  stelle  des  ganzen  liedes, "  and  "durrh 
ihren  inhalt  hochst  ausgezeielinet  und  eigentiimlich. ' '  The  rest  of  the  poem 
is  summarized,  not  translate*!. 

"1840:  (First  German  Translation)  "Beowulf.  Heldengedicht  des  achten 
Jahrhunderts.  Zum  ersten  male  aus  dem  Angelsiichsisphen  in  das  Neu- 
hochdeutsche  stabreimend  iibersetzt  und  mit  Einleitung  und  Anmerkungen 
versehen  von  L.  Etmuller. "     Pp.  108-112   (episode),  pp.  56-58   (fragment). 

1850:  "Engia  and  Seaxna  Seopas  and  Booeras, "  pp.  108-110  (text 
of  episode)  ;  pp.  l.>0-i:n    (text  of  fragment). 

*'Louis  F.  Klipstein,  "Analeeta  Anglo-Saxonica. "  New  York.  1849.  The 
first  American  treatment  of  this  theme.  He  gives  the  text  of  the  episode 
(pp.  42.3-426),  the  fragment  (426-427),  and,  under  note  ryA  (Fin),  of  Wid- 
sith.  He  follows  KemhJe  to  the  extent  of  giving  entire  his  long  note  on 
Teutonic  burials,  including  the  statement  that  Hildeburh's  son  was  slain 
upon  Hnaef  's  funeral  pile. 

For  mistaken  statement  of  Klipstein 's  nationalitv  in  Wiilker's  "Grund- 
riss,"  p.  74,  see  P.  M.  L.  A.  XLVI  (1898). 

"1851:  (Second  Danish  translation).  "  Beowulf  og  Scopes  WidsiS,  to 
angel-saxiske  Digte,  med  Oversa?tteIse  og  oplysende  Annurrkninger  udgivne 
af  Frederik  Schaldemose. " 

""Beowulf,  an  epic  poem  translated  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  into  English 
verse,  by  A.  Diedrich  Wackerbarth,  A.  B.  Professor  of  Anglo-Saxon  at  the 
College  of  our  Ladye  of  Oscott. ' '  London,  1849.  Ballad  meter,  intended 
to  appeal  to  the  reading  public. 

"Introduction,  p.  xxxiii. 


14  THE   FINN6BURG  DOCUMENTS 

"Every  commentator  seems  to  consider  this  as  the  sacrifice  of  a 
living  son;  but  I  cannot  but  think  that  the  youth  was  dead  al- 
ready, as  Hildeburh's  brethren  and  children  fell  in  the  battle, 
and  that  it  was  only  his  dead  body  that  was  burned  on  Hnsef 's 
funeral  Pj're. ' ' 

THE  WORK  OF  THORPE 

In  1850  appeared  Thorpe's  edition  of  Beowulf/"  Thorpe 
had  studied  in  the  University  of  Copenhagen  under  Rask.  His 
first  publication  was  an  English  version  of  Rask's  "Anglo- 
Saxon  Grammar"  in  1830.  In  this  same  year  he  collated 
Thorkelin  's  edition  of  Beowulf  with  the  Cottonian  Ms.  intending 
to  produce  an  edition  of  his  own.  He  found  the  Ms.  in  an  ex- 
tremely friable  condition,  and  his  readings  in  a  number  of  places 
supply  letters  that  soon  after  disappeared.  His  explanation  of 
the  Finnsburg  situation  makes  the  fragment  precede  the  episode 
and  describe  an  attack  made  by  Hnaef  and  his  men  upon  the  hall 
of  Finn.  ' '  The  fragment, ' '  he  says,^^  ' '  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  be- 
gins with  a  speech  of  Fin,  the  Frisian  prince,  on  seeing  a  glare 
of  light  in  his  palace,  which  has  been  fired  by  the  Danish  in- 
vaders, in  an  attack  by  night."  At  the  close  of  the  fragment 
Hnaef  turns  away  wounded,  but  his  men  under  Hengest  are  vic- 
torious and,  after  making  terms  with  Fin,  quarter  themselves 
upon  the  Frisian  people  for  the  winter.  In  the  spring  Hengest 
brooding  over  the  death  of  Hnaef,  donned  Hunlaf ing,  ' '  the  flame 
of  war,  the  best  of  falchions, ' '  and  with  Guthlaf  and  Oslaf  after 
their  sea  voyage,  attacked  and  slew  Fin." 

In  Germany  Uhland^'  adopted  the  views  of  Thorpe.  Sim- 
rock^^  agreed  with  Uhland  and  Thorpe  that  Fin  is  attacked  in 


""'The  Anglo-Saxon  poems  of  Beowulf,  The  Scop  or  Gleeman's  Tale 
(Widsith),  and  the  Fight  at  Finnesburg.  With  a  literal  translation,  notes, 
and  glossary,  etc.,  bv  Benjamin  Thorpe."     Oxford,  1855. 

«P.  227. 

^*Cf.  his  note  on  Hunlafing:  "Hiinlafing  T  take  to  be  the  name  of  Hen- 
gest 's  sword,  as  Hrunting,  Nfegling,  etc.  The  meaning  is  not  that  he 
stabbed  himself,  but  that  he  merely  placed  the  weapon  in  or  on  his  bosom, 
in  allusion  probably  to  the  method  of  wearing  it  in  front,  examples  of 
which  may  be  seen  in  old  illnminatinns.  (An  exactly  similar  passage  oc- 
curs hereafter  where  there  is  no  question  of  stabbing.)  In  other  words 
that  he  girded  or  prepared  himself  for  a  renewal  of  the  contest" 

^Germanm,  II,  344  ff. 

**"  Beowulf.  Das  alteste  deutsche  epos  iibersetzt  und  erlautert  von  Dr. 
Karl  Simrock."    1859. 


THORPE  —  GREIN  15 

the  fragment  and  that  his  enemies  gain  a  victory  dearly  bought 
by  the  death  of  Hnsef,  He  held,  however,  that  Fin,  perceiving 
Hengest's  desire  for  vengeance,  had  him  secretly  put  out  of  the 
way  with  the  sword  Hunlafing.  His  followers,  Guthlaf  and  Os- 
laf,  escaped,  returning  later  with  a  force  sufficient  to  avenge  all 
their  grievances.  "It  was  blood  vengeance,"  he  concludes, 
"which  here  as  in  the  Nibelungen  saga  furnished  the  tragic 
motive. ' ' 

Rieger^^  followed  Thorpe  in  taking  Hunlafing  as  a  sword,  but 
thought  it  was  presented  to  Hengest  and  was  designated  as 
"cuSe"  because  it  had  slain  Hntef. 

In  England  Mr.  Daniel  H.  Haigh-'*  reproduced  Thorpe's 
translations  of  both  fragment  and  episode  with  practically  no 
variations  except  in  phrasing.  He  applies  in  addition  his  char- 
acteristic theory  of  an  English  origin  and  background  for  every 
event  referred  to  in  Old  English  poetry.  He  held  this  feud  as  an 
adventure  of  "the  second  Hencgest,  of  whom  the  Frisian  tra- 
ditions speak,  the  nephew  of  the  first;"  and  he  regarded  Fin  as 
ruler  of  a  Frisian  settlement  in  Norfolk.  His  argument  for  this 
latter  point  is  based  on  local  nomenclature,  since  there  is  a 
Finnesham  in  Norfolk  and  a  Hilborough,  (Hildeburh),  a  Hock- 
wold,  and  a  Hockham  (Hoce)  not  very  far  distant. 

THE  GREIN  ANALYSIS  AND  ITS   INFLUENCE 

The  work  of  Grein  marks  an  epoch  in  the  study  of  all  Old 
English  poetry.  His  "Bibliothek  der  angelsaelisischen  Poesie" 
and  the  translation  of  this  body  of  poetry  in  his  "  Dichtungen 
der  Angelsachsen "  appeared  in  1857.  This  included,  of  course,  his 
first  treatment  of  the  Pinnsburg  materials;  but  a  more  definite 
pronouncement  of  his  views  was  given  in  Ebert's  Jahrhuch'*'  in 
1862.  The  episode  he  declared  one  of  the  darkest  and  most 
difficult  parts  of  the  entire  Beoivulflied.  After  comparing  it 
with  the  fragment  and  carefully  examining  all  the  details  he 


^°Max  Rieger,  "  Angelsachsisches  Lesebuch. "  1861.  Fragment,  pp.  61-63; 
episode,  pp.  67-70. 

"Daniel  H.  Haigh,  ' '  The  Anglo-Saxon  Sagas ;   an  examination  of  their 
value  as  aids  to  history. ' '    London,  1861.  Pp.  32-33. 

"Chr.   Grein,  ' '  Die  historischen  Verhaltnisse   dea   Beowulf liedes. ' '     Eb- 
•rt't  Jahrb'uoh,  1862,  269  ff. 


16  THE  FINNSBURG  DOCUMENTS 

sums  up  the  result  of  his  study.  He  places  the  events  of  the 
fragment  before  line  1068.  According  to  Widsith,  Fin,  son  of 
Folcwald,  ruled  the  Frisians,  who  are  called  in  Beowulf  some- 
times Frisians,  sometimes  Eotens.  This  suggests  that  Fin  ruled 
both  the  Jutes  of  Jutland  and  the  neighboring  North  Frisians, 
Finsburg  was  in  Jutland,  and  here  was  dwelling  with  Fin  Hnasf 
the  Hoeing,  a  vassal  of  the  Danish  king,  Healfdene,  with  sixty 
men.  Grein  regards  Grundtvig  entirely  wrong  in  calling 
Hengest,  one  of  these  thanes,  a  Frisian  prince.  Inasmuch  as 
Grein  believes  the  Hengest  of  Beowulf  was  slain  in  battle  with 
Fin,  he  also  thinks  Kemble  mistaken  in  identifying  him  with  the 
"freilich  ungefahr  gleichzeitigen"  historical  Hengest  of  Kent, 

These  guests  were  treacherously  attacked  at  night  by  the 
followers  of  Fin.  The  fight  described  in  the  fragment  ensued, 
at  the  close  of  which  Hnaif  fell  and  Fin's  forces  were  so  weak- 
ened that  he  was  forced  to  make  terms  wdth  Hengest,  as  set  forth 
in  the  episode.  Hnaef  and  other  fallen  warrioi's  were  burned 
with  elaborate  ceremony.  Again  Grein  takes  issue  with  Grundt- 
vig asserting  that  Hildeburg,  Hoce's  daughter,  is  the  sister  of 
Hnsef  and  the  wdfe  of  Fin,  "so  sehr  sich  auch  Grundtvig  gegen 
diese  letztere  Annahme  straubt."  Through  the  winter  the 
treaty  was  observed,  but  when  spring  came,  Hengest,  thinking 
more  of  revenge  than  of  the  sea  journey,  did  not  escape  his  fate 
when  Hunlafing  thrust  the  battle  flame,  best  of  swords  in  his 
bosom.  Grein  thinks  this  passage  can  mean  nothing  else  but 
that  Hengest  fell  at  the  hand  of  Hunlafing.  "Wir  konnen  un- 
moglich  in  Hunlafing  den  Namen  eines  Schwertes  sehen,  das  ihm 
geschenkt  worden  sei. ' '  The  only  point  remaining  dark  to  Grein 
was  whether  Hengest  returned  home  for  reinforcements  before 
his  unfortunate  attempt  at  vengeance,  or  additional  help  was 
summoned  after  his  fall  by  Guthlaf  and  Oslaf.  The  latter  view 
seems  to  him  more  probable. 

This  interpretation  is  practically  a  restatement  of  Kemble 's 
view  although  Grein  mentions  the  latter  only  to  disagree  with 
him.  Kemble 's  statements  had  been  somewhat  indefinite  and,  as 
Thorpe  noted  in  the  preface  to  his  own  edition  of  Beowulf, 
copies  of  liis  work  were  difficult  to  obtain.  Grein 's  conclusions 
were  clear,  definite,  and  positive,  and  were  given  wide  circula- 


GREIN  —  PIERQUTN"  17 

tion.  Although,  as  indicated  above,  he  furnished  no  arguments 
to  sustain  his  assertions  the  prestige  of  his  work  as  editor  and 
translator  of  the  entire  body  of  Old  English  poetry  and  the 
compiler  of  the  invaluable  "  Sprachschatz "  caused  them  to  be 
accepted  as  authoritative.  For  fifty  years  this  view  has  been 
known  as  "the  Grein  analysis",  and  it  is  still  accepted  as  the  most 
satisfactory  explanation  by  many  scholars.  For  twenty-one 
years  it  was  practically  unquestioned  except  by  Arnold'^^  and 
Lumsden'^**  in  England  ,who  followed  Thorpe,  and  by  Horn- 
burg''**  in  Germany,  who  regarded  Grein 's  explanation  as  satis- 
factory for  the  first  half  but  agreed  with  Rieger  (a  follower  of 
Thorpe  as  before  noted)  from  1128  on. 

Holtzman,^^  Heyne,^^  Kohler,^^  Von  Wolzogen,*''  Dederich,** 
and  Ten  Brinks*  did  not  question  the  interpretation  of  Grein. 
Botkine^''  in  France,  Grion^^  in  Italy,  and  Garnett*^  in  America 
followed  Grein 's  version  of  the  Finnsburg  story  in  the  first  trans- 
lation of  Beowulf  published  in  these  three  countries.  In  France 
no  other  translation  appeared  until  1912  when  Pierquin^'"  pub- 
lished an  extensive  volume  based  directly  on  the  work  of  Kemble. 
In  America  the  Garnett  translation  has  gone  through  four  edi- 


^*Thomas  Arnold,  "Beowulf.  A  Heroic  Poem  of  the  Eighth  Century  with 
a  Translation,  Notes,  and  Appendix."     London,   1876. 

'•Col.  H.  W.  Lumsden,  ' '  Beowulf,  an  Old  English  Poem  translated  into 
modern  Rhymes. ' '     London,  1881. 

*°J-  Hornburg,  "Die  Composition  des  Beowulfs. "     Metzger  Progr.  1877. 

"Adolph  Holtzman,  ' '  Zu  Beowulf. ' '  Germanin.    1863. 

"' '  Beowulf.  Angelsaehsisches  Heldengedicht  iibersetzt  von  Moritz 
Heyne. "  1863.  Zweite  Auflage.  1898.  The  second  edition  is  the  one  con- 
sulted.    The  fragment  is  not  translated. 

"Kohler,    Germmna,  XIII   (1868),  1556. 

■"Hans  von  Wolzogen,  "Beovulf.  Das  alteste  deutsche  Heldengedicht." 
Leipzig,  1872- 

"H.  Dederieh,  ' '  Historische  und  geographische  Studien  zuin  angelsachsis- 
chen  Beowulfliede."    1877. 

•"Bernhard  Ten  Brink,  "History  of  English  Literature"  (translated  by 
H.  M.  Kennedy,  1889)  ;  Paul's  "Grundriss,"  ed.  1,  Vol.  II. 

*" '  Beowulf,  Epopee  Anglo-Saxonne. ' '  Traduite  en  f ranqais,  pour  la 
premiere  fois,  d 'apres  le  texte  original  par   L.  Botkine.     Le  Havre,  1877. 

"' '  Beovulf ,  poema  epico  anglosassone  del  VIT  secolo,  tradotto  e  illus- 
trato  dal  Dott.     Cav.  Guisto  Grion"     Lucca,  1883. 

*'"  Beowulf :  An  Anglo-Saxon  Poem,  and  the  Fight  at  Finnsburg,  trans- 
lated by  James  M.  Garnett,  M.  A.,  LL.  D. "  Boston.  1882.  Second  Edi- 
tion, 1885.    Third  Edition,  1892.    Reprinted  1899.     Fourth  Edition,  1900. 

••H.  Pierquin,  "  Le  Po^me  Anglo-Saxon  de  Beowulf."    Paris,  1912, 


18  THE  riNNSBURG  DOCUMENTS 

tions  and  has  received  the  approval  of  critics  and  scholars  as 
well  as  that  of  the  reading  public. 

MOELLER^S  INTERPRETATION 

The  first  to  break  away  definitely  from  the  Grein  tradition 
was  Herman  AloUer,  whose  advocacy  of  an  original  strophic 
form  for  Old  English  poetry  influenced  all  his  work  in  this  field. 
In  1883  he  put  forth  a  study  of  the  "Finnepos"  containing  many 
original  suggestions.  He  maintained  that  the  fight  described  in 
the  fragment  could  not  be  the  one  in  which  Hntef  fell  since  the 
latter  was  evidently  one  in  the  open  field  in  which  the  Danes,  not 
the  Frisians,  were  the  aggressors.  For  this  reason  he  held  that 
the  fragment  did  not  belong  at  the  beginning  of  events  in  the 
Finn,  episode.  He  placed  it  between  lines  1145  and  1146  and 
believed  that  it  describes  a  second  battle  in  which  the  treaty  be- 
tween Finn  and  Hengest  was  broken.  The  hall  is  the  one  pre- 
pared by  the  treaty  for  Hengest  and  his  men  and  which  they 
have  since  occupied.  Line  1142  ^MoUer  emended  by  reading 
" worod-rapdenne "  for  " worold-reedenne "  and  translated:  "So 
he  did  not  oppose  tlie  will  of  his  followers  when  the  son  of  Hun- 
laf  laid  the  best  of  swords  in  his  lap. ' '  The  giving  of  the  sword 
expressed  the  desire  for  vengeance  which  by  the  term  of  the 
treaty  must  remain  \uispoken.  The  "grimne  gripe"  of  line  1148 
he  thought  referred  to  the  night  attack  in  which  Finn  and  his 
followers  .sought  to  forestall  the  poorly  concealed  intentions  of 
Hengest.  In  tliis  attack  described  in  the  fragment  Hengest  was 
slain,  but  Guthlaf  and  Oslaf  succeeded  in  reaching  their  ships 
and  after  a  sea  journey  returned  with  new  forces  and  revenged 
their  wrongs. 

Moller  believed  the  Finnsaga  had  its  origin  in  the  myth  of 
Frey,  chief  god  of  the  Ingaevones.  This  theory  had  been  ad- 
vanced by  Miiilenhof  in  1859"  and  suggested,  though  not  def- 
initely asserted,  by  Grimm  in.  ISSS.''*  It  was  worked  out  in  detail 
by  Moller  with  a  ratlier  convincing  effect.  He  believed  the  same 
myth  assumed  other  forms  in  the  Hildesage,  the  Giidrunsage,  and 


"In  Z.  f.  d.  A.  XI,  under  "  Widsith  "  in  his  "  Zur  Kritik  des  ags.  Volks- 
epos. ' ' 

"J,  Grimm,  "Deutsche  Mjthologie"  (translated  by  Stalleybrass,  1882, 
Ch.  X,  p.  219.)     London. 


MOKLLER  —  BUGGE  19 

in  the  folk  takes  of  the  island  of  l->ylt  collected  by  C.  B.  Han- 
sen." In  the  myth  of  Fivy  he  sees  tlie  motive  for  the  feud,  and 
he  strengthens  his  argument  by  citing  parallel  features  from 
these  legends  as  of  similar  origin.  He  regards  the  identity  of 
the  Sylt  legend  of  Finn  and  the  Old  English  Finnsaga  ineontest- 
ably  established. 

Shortly  after  Mollei-'s  study,  appeared  Wiilcker's  "Grund- 
riss"  giving  the  bibliography  of  the  subject  previous  to  1885  and 
the  only  review  of  critical  opinion  on  the  Finnsburg  question 
that  has  yet  been  attempted.  Wiilcker's  personal  endorsement 
is  given  to  the  view  of  Moller.  He  regarded  MoUer's  treatment 
of  the  subject  as  the  most  complete  and  detailed  and  his  explan- 
ation the  most  probable  of  any  that  had  \et  appeared. 

THE  BUGGE  THEORY 

Two  years  later  Moller 's  view  was  opposed  in  an  important 
article  by  Bugge  in  Paul  and  Braune's  "Beitriige."^^  The  sec- 
tion devoted  to  the  Finnsburg  fragment  began  with  a  statement 
that  he  agreed  with  the  usual  view  that  it  describes  the  battle  in 
which  Hnasf  fell  and  precedes  the  events  related  in  Beowulf. 
One  is  not  justified,  he  holds,  in  ascribing  to  tlie  author  of  the 
episode  so  little  narrative  skill  as  not  even  to  mention  an  event 
of  prime  importance  that  falls  in  the  midst  of  the  episode  and 
furnishes  the  motive  for  the  conclusion.  On  the  other  hand, 
that  he  should  simply  refer  to  an  event  that  preceded  his  narra- 
tive appears  more  easily  explicable.  Against  Moller 's  view, 
again,  is  the  fact  that  it  makes  Ileng.'st  llio  "HeaSo-geong 
eyning"  of  line  2,  although  in  Beowulf  he  is  not  represented  as 
king  even  after  the  death  of  Ilnjcf,  but  at  "Seodnes  tSegn" 
(1.  1085).  Farther,  in  direct  opposition  to  ^loller's  opinion  that 
lines  37-40  give  the  best  sense  if  taken  as  an  expression  of  ven- 
geance for  the  fallen  Hntef,  Bugge  maintains  that  if  Hntef  had 
fallen  in  an  earlier  battle  and  at  another  place  and  Hengest 
were  king  at  this  time,  the  poet  could  not  use  expressions  prais- 


•*Cf.   Holler's    " Alien glische    Volksepos";     also    BlacTcwood's   Magazine, 
July,  1888. 

••Vol,  XII,  pp.  20-87. 


20  THE  FINNSBURG  l)OCUMENTS 

ing  the  loyalty  of  the  heroes  to  a  former  king  and  utterly  disre- 
garding their  relation  to  the  living  king. 

Bugge's  interpretation  throughout  is  strongly  influenced  by 
the  Hrolf's  saga  and  Saxo's  narrative  of  Hrolfr  kraki.  He  calls 
attention  to  the  similarity  of  treatment  in  the  poetic  handling 
of  the  last  battle  of  Hrolfr  kraki  and  the  Finnsburg  fight.  Hol- 
ler's supposition  that  lines  1142-1145  of  the  episode  describe  the 
giving  of  a  sword  to  Hengest  by  his  own  followers  as  a  dumb  re- 
quest that  he  should  lead  them  in  revenging  their  wrongs,  he 
regards  as  absolutely  untenable.  That  soldiers  should  present 
their  leader  with  a  sword  to  spur  him  on  to  brave  actions  might, 
he  thinks,  happen  in  recent  times,  but  such  conduct  would  be 
most  strange  and  without  precedent  in  old  Germanic  relations. 
His  translation  of  the  passage  is  very  close  to  that  of  JMoUer,  al- 
though his  interpretation  differs  widely.  The  emendation  to 
*  *  worod-raedenne "  he  had  already  adopted  independently  of 
MoUer  and  cites  Gen.  1963  as  a  similar  mistaken  occurrence  of 
"worulde'  for  "worude. "  His  understanding  of  the  situation 
is  that  when  spring  arrived  Hengest,  in  spite  of  his  longing  to 
start  homeward,  lingered  brooding  over  plans  for  vengeance. 
But  the  followers  of  Finn  watched  the  king's  hall  unceasingly, 
so  that  a  hostile  attack  in  order  to  kill  Finn  was  impossible.  At 
last,  finding  himself  shut  off  from  other  methods  of  revenge,  he 
did  not  scruple  to  declare  himself  a  liegeman  of  Finn  when  Hun 
laid  in  his  lap  Lafing,  the  gleaming  weapon,the  best  of  swords. 
He  points  out  that  Laufi  was  the  sword  of  BoSvarr  bjarki,  hero 
of  Hrolfr  kraki.  Hun  he  takes  from  Widsith  as  ruler  of  the 
Hetuare,  later  mentioned  in  Beowulf  (2363-2916)  as  allies  of  the 
Frisians  against  Hygelae.  It  is  not  easy  to  see  why  he  should 
appear  here  instead  of  Finn,  but  Bugge  supposes  he  was  staying 
at  the  Frisian  court  as  a  vassal  of  Finn  just  as  Hnsef  though 
called  a  king  was  a  vassal  of  the  Danish  Healfdene.  As  the  liege- 
man of  Finn  it  was  Hengest 's  duty  to  bring  gifts  or  tribute  to  his 
lord.  Promising  to  send  such  gifts  from  Denmark  he  received 
permission  to  return  home.  Later  a  strong  force  of  Danes, 
among  whom  Guthlaf  and  Oslaf  are  named,  sailed  for  Fries- 
land,  ostensibly  bearing  gifts,  probably  weapons,  from  Hengest 
to  his  lord  Finn,     They  were  admitted  without  suspicion,  and 


SAERAZm  — SWIGGETT  21 

Finn  was  slain  in  his  own  hall.  The  support  offered  by  Bugge  in 
conclusion  for  this  supposed  course  of  events  is  the  analogous 
narrative  of  Hrolfr  kraki,  which,  he  thinks,  furnishes  the  key  to 
the  explanation  of  the  whole. 

Since  the  appearance  of  Bugge 's  study  there  have  been  many 
translations,  arguments  for  and  against  previous  views,  and 
modifications  suggested.  Hugo  Schilling-^'  held  that  Moller's 
explanation  was  unanswerable  except  tliat  lines  1142-1145  stated 
the  death  of  Hengest  and  made  specific  reference  to  the  fight 
described  in  the  fragment,  hence  the  latter  should  be  placed  just 
before  1142  instead  of  after  1145.  He  took  up  Bugge 's  sug- 
gestions in  detail  with  the  general  conclusion  that  "logic  is  not 
Bugge 's  forte." 

The  emendations  of  Moller  and  Bugge  in  line  1142  were 
adopted  in  the  Heyne-Socin  (5th)  edition  and  the  later  editions 
of  Harrison  and  Sharp,  Both  these  works  favored  the  Bugge 
interpretation. 

Sarrazin-^'''  accepts  Moller's  interpretation,  but  regards  the  In- 
geld  narrative  of  Saxo  as  the  key.  In  his  opinion,  "The  Finn 
episode  is  according  to  content  a  complete  pendant  to  the  Ingeld 
episode.  The  theme  is  the  same;  the  outbreak  of  hereditary 
feud  between  families  united  by  marriage.  The  relations  and 
situations  are  very  similar. ' ' 

Rudolph  Wickberg"  in  the  first  Swedish  translation  of  Beo- 
wulf followed  Grein.  The  Grein  analysis  was  also  adopted  by 
Henry  Morley^^  (with  an  alternative  suggestion  of  Thorpe's 
view  of  11.  1142-1145),  by  Stopford  A.  Brooke,'-"  P.  Hoffinan,«'' 
H.  Steineck,"'  and  apparently  by  Swiggett''-'  who  states:  "Hil- 
deburh  is  given  to  Finn  as  atonement  for  tlie  killing  of  Finn's 
father  by  Hnajf  or  Hoc,  on  Hmef's  fall  succession  is  given  to 
Hengest,  a  peace  treaty  is  made,  Hengest  remains,  and  is  after- 
wards put  to  the  sword  as  likewise  happens  in  time  to  Finn. "    In 


"M.  L.  N.,  I,  89-92,  116-117;   II,  14fi-150. 
"G.  Sarrazin,  ' '  Beowulf-Studien. ' ' 
"R.  Wickberg,  "Beowulf,"  1889. 
"'Henry  Morley,  "English  Writers,"  Vol.  I,  Ch.  VII. 
•'S.  A.  Brooke,  "History  of  Karly  English  Literature,"  pp.  63-66. 
""Hoft'man   inserted  the  fragment   in   the  body  of  the  translation    (after 
line  1067),  and  wrote  for  it  a  beginning  and  an  end. 
"H.  Steineck;  "Beowulf,"  p.  37. 
•"♦Notes  on  the  Finnsburg  Fragment,"  If.  L.  N.,  XX,  169. 


22  THE  FINNSBUKG  DOCUMENTS 

conclusion  he  declares:  "This  is  the  sequence  admitted  by  all 
scholars."  This  theory  is  also  advocated  by  Gummere,''"^  who 
thinks  the  exact  story  not  to  be  determined  but  "the  following 
account" — which  it  is  not  necessary  to  reproduce  as  it  classifies 
under  the  Grein  analysis — "is  reasonable  and  has  good  support 
among  scholars." 

For  the  last  twenty-five  years,  although  as  has  been  noted 
Grein  still  has  a  following  among  scholars,  the  tendency  has 
been  to  accept  the  interpretation  either  of  Moller  or  of  Bugge. 
Cosijn,  Wyatt,  the  Morris  and  Wyatt  translation,  Kogel,  Clark 
Hall  (1901  edition),  Tinker,  Vogt,  Huyshe,  and  Sedgefield  fol- 
low the  interpretation  of  JNIoller ;  while  Earle,  J.  L.  Hall,  Simons, 
Trautmann,  Gering,  and  C.  L,  Thomson  accept  the  explanation 
of  Bugge.  Child  gives  a  brief  summary  of  the  two  theories  as 
* '  two  typical  attempts  that  have  won  some  acceptance. ' ' 

THE  HISTORICAL.  VIEW 

An  interesting  suggestion  was  made  by  Chadwick  in  1907  in  his 
"Origin  of  the  English  Nation".  At  the  close  of  a  chapter  on 
the  invasion  of  Kent,  he  says  :^^ 

"We  have  seen  that  the  name  Hengest  is  very  rare.  The  only 
other  person  of  this  name  known  to  me  is  the  warrior  who  figures 
in  Beowulf  and  in  the  fragmentary  poem  on  the  fight  in  Finn's 
castle.  The  history  of  this  individual  is  unfortunately  obscure. 
It  is  clear,  however,  that  he  was  the  chief  follower  of  a  certain 
Hnaef,  who  appears  to  have  been  a  prince  in  the  service  of  the 
Danish  king  Healfdene.  On  a  certain  occasion  this  Hnajf  paid 
a  visit,  whether  friendly  or  otherwise  is  not  clear,  to  Friesland, 
where  he  was  slain  by  the  followers  of  the  Frisian  king,  Finn, 
the  son  of  Folcvvalda.  Hengest  and  his  other  warriors  after  a 
long  struggle  came  to  terms  with  Finn ;  but  some  of  them  event- 
ually returned  to  Denmark  and  having  obtained  reinforcements 
attacked  and  slew  him.    Of  Hengest 's  fate  nothing  is  stated. 

"Now  it  is  curious  to  note  that  this  Hengest  must  have  been 
a  contemporary  of  his  famous  namesake.  In  Beowulf  the  Danish 
King  Hrothgar  is  represented  as  a  very  old  man.  and  as  having 
reigned  for  a  very  long  period  (hund  missera,  l.  1770).  The 
time  to  which  the  poem  refers  is  the  first  quarter  of  the  sixth 
century.  Healfdene,  Hrothgar 's  father,  may  therefore  have 
been  reigning  before  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century.     Again, 

""F.  B.  Gummere,  "The  Oldest  English  Epic,"  pp.  69-74:  159-163. 
•*Pp.  52-53. 


CHADWICK  —  HUCHON  23 

both  Hengests  come  apparently  from  the  same  coimtry.  The 
Hengist  of  the  Historia  Brittoniim  is  said  to  have  come  from 
Oghgiil,  which,  as  we  shall  see  subsequently,  is  probably  Angel 
in  South  Jutland.  But  the  Hengest  of  the  poems  also  comes  from 
some  part  of  the  Danish  kingdom.  As  for  the  tribes  to  which 
they  belonged  that  of  the  Kentish  Hengest  is  called  by  Bede 
Jutae  (Juti),  while  in  English  translations  we  find  Ytena,  Eota, 
lutua  (gen.  pi.),  latum  (dat.  pi.).  The  tribe  to  which  the  other 
Hengest  belonged  is  called  in  Beowulf  Eotcna  (gen.  pi.)  Eo- 
tenum  (dat.  pi.).  To  these  forms  we  shall  have  to  return  la- 
ter, but  at  all  events  it  cannot  be  denied  that  there  is  a  striking 
resemblance  between  them.  Again,  the  Hengest  of  the  Historia 
Brittonum  is  said  to  have  been  driven  into  exile.  The  fate  of  the 
other  Hengest  we  do  not  know;  but  he  can  hardly  have  returned 
home  after  making  peace  with  the  man  who  had  slain  his  lord. 
Exile  is  certainly  what  might  have  been  expected  in  such  a  case. 
Lastly,  we  may  remember  that  the  story  of  Finn,  the  son  of 
Folcwalda,  was  evidently  running  in  the  mind  of  the  Scribe 
from  whom  the  genealogy  of  the  Historia  Brittonum  is  derived. 
On  the  whole  therefore  if  the  invasion  of  Kent  may  be  dated 
after  440  I  think  it  is  more  probable  than  not  that  tlie  two  Hen- 
gests  were  identical." 

In  a  note  to  this  same  chapter  he  calls  attention  to  the  state- 
ment in  Skioldunga  Saga  (chap.  4  in  Arngrim  Jonsson's  epitome) 
that  a  Danish  king  named  Leifus  had  seven  sons,  three  of  whom 
were  called  Hunleifus,  Oddleifus,  and  Gunnleifus.  Chadwick 
regarded  the  two  latter  as  identical  with  Ordlaf  and  Guthlaf  and 
commented  on  the  striking  coincidence  of  Hengest 's  possession 
of  a  sword  called  Hunlafing. 

Later  Rene  Huchon  in  an  article  in  the  Rcvur  Germaniqiie^^ 
identified  all  three  names  with  the  three  heroes  mentioned  in  Beo- 
Avnlf,  maintaining  that  Hunlafing  was  the  brother  of  Ordlaf  and 
Guthlaf.  Dr.  Imelmann  of  Bonn  agreed  with  this  conclusion 
and  strengthened  the  argument  that  Hunlafing  should  be  re- 
garded as  a  Germanic  hero  by  quoting  a  passage  from  a  late  Brut- 
version  (Cot.  Vesp.  D.  TV)  at  fol.  1395: 

"In  diebus  illis,  imperante  Valentiniano.  regnum  barbarorum 
et  g«M'manorum  exortum  est.  turgentesque  populi  et  nationes  per 


"Huchon  translates  lines  1142-1145  as  follows:  "  Anssi  lui  (Renjrest) 
ne  reoula-t-il  pas  devant  la  destinee,  lorsque  Hunlafing  le  mit  en  possession 
de  la  lumiere  do  la  (ruerre,  de  1 'exoellente  ^p6e,  dont  le  tranchant  6tait  fa- 
meux  parmi  les  Jutes  (ou  parmi  les  grants)," 


24  THE  FINNSBUEG  DOCUMENTS 

totam  Europam  consederunt.  Hoc  testantur  gesta  Rodnlphi  et 
Hunlapi,  Unwini  et  Widie,  Horsi  et  Hengesti,  Waltef  et  Hame, 
quorum  quidam  in  Italia,  quidam  in  Gallia,  alii  in  Brittania, 
ceteri  vero  in  Gerraania  armis  et  rebus  bellicis  claruerunt." 

These  articles  summed  up  in  a  note  added  to  the  introduction 
of  the  second  volume  of  Holthausen's  second  edition  of  Beowulf 
attracted  the  attention  of  Dr.  J.  R.  Clark  Hall  and  completely 
changed  his  interpretation  of  the  Finnsburg  story.  In  a  com- 
munication to  31  Oder )i  Lanugage  Notes,  April,  1910,  he  expressed 
his  relief  to  find  "the  personage  of  line  1143  a  Dane"  and  the 
consequent  clearing  away  of  "translations  which  must  have  been 
felt  to  be  unsatisfactory."  He  suggested  one  modification  of 
the  view  of  Huchon  and  Imelmann,  namely : 

' '  Hunlaf ,  and  not  Hunlaf ing  is  the  proper  name  of  Oslaf  and 
Guthlaf's  brother,  and  the  reference  in  line  1143  is  to  a  son 
of  Hunlaf.  This  is  in  accordance  with  both  the  authorities 
quoted  by  Imelmann,  and  it  would  agree  with  the  usual  custom 
in  Anglo-Saxon  nomenclature,  while  it  would  be  difficult,  if  not 
impossible,  to  find  a  case  where  one  brother's  name  ended  in  the 
same  syllable  as  that  of  the  others,  but  with  the  addition  of  -ing. 
If  we  may  go  by  the  order  in  the  Skioldunga  Saga,  Hunlaf  would 
be  the  eldest  brother,  and  probably  he  was  dead  before  the  attack 
in  the  Finnsburg.  It  is  noteworthy  that  he,  and  not  Guthlaf  and 
Oslaf,  are  mentioned  in  the  Brut  version  which  also  contains  the 
name  of  Hengest.  If,  as  is  not  unlikely,  Hunlaf  had  been  killed  by 
the  Frisians,  lines  1148-1150  may  well  have  reference  to  Guth- 
laf and  Oslaf 's  personal  loss,  and  to  their  position  as  his  natural 
avengers. ' ' 

In  the  second  and  revised  edition  of  his  "BeoM'ulf "  (1911)  Dr. 
Hall  made  use  of  these  conclusions,  which  made  necessary  a 
complete  revision  of  his  previous  treatment  of  the  Finn  episode. 

Miss  M.  G.  Clarke,  in  her  "Sidelights  on  Teutonic  History 
during  the  Migration  Period"  (1911),  sums  up  the  evidence 
pointing  to  a  historical  background  of  the  Finn  saga.^*  She 
emphasizes  each  of  tlie  points  suggested  by  Chadwick  showing 
that  the  balance  of  probability  "is  in  favor  of  accepting  the  Hen- 
gest of  the  Finn  saga  as  the  same  Hengest  who  later  on  sought 
a  new  home  across  the  seas  in  Britain."  It  is  most  unlikely, 
she  maintains,  that  such  a  curious  and  extensive  coincidence  of 

•Tp.  184-187. 


GENEEAL  SUEVEY  25 

names  and  events  in  wholly  different  versions  should  be  due 
merely  to  chance. 

The  work  of  Chambers  in  his  revision  of  the  Wyatt  text  indi- 
cates that  he  is  in  sympathy  with  the  historical  interpretation. 
His  suggestions  in  regard  to  the  tribal  relationships  of  the  lead- 
ers involved  deserve  thoughtful  consideration.  It  is  perhaps 
premature  to  r-efer  to  his  interpretation  or  to  classify  it  until 
after  tlie  publication  of  his  "Introduction  to  Beowulf",  in  which 
he  will  doubtless  give  a  full  discussion  of  the  Finnsburg  passages. 

GENERAL  SURVEY 

Reviewing  the  course  of  criticism  we  find  that  studies  in  other 
fields  have  very  largely  been  responsible  for  the  various  inter- 
pretations offered.  Thorkelin  with  his  imperfect  knowledge  of 
Old  English  language  and  custom  read  into  the  episode  Roman 
ideas  and  conditions. 

Grundtvig,  although  his  work  can  not  be  relied  upon  for 
critical  purposes  without  verification  from  modern  scholarship, 
possessed  marvelous  insight  and  his  translation,  or  more  prop- 
erly his  rhymed  paraphrase,  was  evidently  the  result  of  long  and 
patient  study  of  the  text.  When  we  consider  that  his  only  ap- 
paratus for  studying  Old  English  poetry  was  the  faulty  Beo- 
wulf text  of  Thorkelin,  the  early  Junius  edition  of  Caedmon 
consisting  of  the  bare  text,  and  a  few  prose  texts  (including 
Hickes'  "Thesaurus"),  we  must  admit  that  the  results  he  ac- 
complished were  remarkable.  He  is  said  practically  to  have 
learned  the  entire  poem  of  Beowulf  by  heart,  and  by  constant 
dwelling  on  difficult  passages  he  found  light  in  many  obscure 
places.  AVithout  ever  having  seen  the  manuscript  he  published 
many  emendations  of  Thorkelin  which  afterward  proved  identi- 
cal with  the  manuscript  readings. 

Kemble's  intei'pretation  was  the  first  i-esult  of  the  new  study  of 
comparative  philology.  A  student  and  ardent  admirer  of 
Grimm,  he  was  strongly  influenced  in  his  views  by  the  researches 
into  comparative  mythology  prevalent  at  that  time.  As  pre- 
viously cited,  he  suggested  that  the  battle  of  Finnsburg  might  be 
an  imaginative  version  of  Froda  the  IV 's  inroad  into  Old  Sax- 


S6  THE  FINNSBURG  DOCUMENTS 

ony  as  described  by  Saxo  Grammaticiis.  The  account  given  in 
this  semi-mythological  chronicle  is  as  follows  :*'' 

"After  Harae  was  killed,  the  sway  of  the  Danes  over  the 
Saxons  grew  so  insolent  tliat  they  were  forced  to  pay  every  year 
a  small  tax  for  each  of  their  limbs  that  Avas  a  cubit  long,  in  token 
of  their  slavery.  This  Hanef  could  not  bear,  and  ho  meditated 
war  in  his  desire  to  remove  the  tribute.  Steadfast  love  of  his 
country'  filled  his  heart  every  day  with  greater  compassion  for 
the  oppressed ;  and,  longing  to  spend  his  life  for  the  freedom  of 
his  countrymen,  he  openly  showed  a  disposition  to  rebel.  Frode 
took  his  forces  over  the  Elbe  and  killed  him  near  the  village  of 
Hanofra  (Hanover),  so  named  after  Hanef.  But  Swerting, 
though  he  was  equally  moved  by  the  distress  of  his  countrymen, 
said  nothing  about  the  ills  of  his  land,  and  revolved  a  plan  for 
freedom  with  a  spirit  yet  more  dogged  than  Hanef 's.  INIen  often 
doubt  whether  this  zeal  was  liker  to  vice  or  to  virtue ;  but  I  cer- 
tainly censure  it  as  criminal,  because  it  was  produced  by  a 
treacherous  desire  to  revolt.  It  may  have  seemed  most  expedient 
to  seek  the  freedom  of  the  country,  but  it  was  not  lawful  to 
strive  after  this  freedom  by  craft  and  treacherv'.  Therefore 
since  the  deed  of  Swerting  was  far  from  honorable,  neither  will 
it  be  called  expedient  .  .  ,  For  guilt  has  been  usually 
found  to  come  home  to  its  author;  and  rumor  relates  that  such 
was  the  fate  of  Swerting.  For  he  had  resolved  to  surprise  the 
king  under  pretence  of  a  banquet,  and  burn  him  to  death ;  but 
the  king  forestalled  and  slew  him,  though  slain  by  him  in  return. 
Hence  the  crime  of  one  proved  the  destruction  of  both ;  and 
thus,  though  the  trick  succeeded  against  the  foe,  it  did  not  be- 
stow immunity  on  its  author. ' ' 

By  identifying  Hnsef  with  Hanef  and  substituting  Hengest 

for  Swerting  we  perceive  here  the  main  outlines  of  the  Finns- 
burg  events  as  read  by  Kemble.  It  seems  probable  that  we  hav« 
here  the  origin  of  the  theory  that  makes  lines  1142-1145  tell  of  the 
death  of  Hengest.  As  previously  noted  Grein  followed  Kemble 
in  this  interpretation  making  it  simpler,  clearer,  and  more  for- 
cible. Thorpe,  whose  understanding  of  the  Finn  story  was  faulty 
in  several  respects,  saw  the  error  of  this  reading  and  pointed 
out  in  a  note,  "an  exactly  similar  passage  occurs  hereafter  where 
there  is  no  question  of  stabbing." 

Holler's  interpretation,  as  we  have  seen,  was  shaped  by  his 
belief  that  the  "Finnepos"  was  a  poetic  reminiscence  of  the  early 


•*"Saxo  Grammaticus "  (trans,  by  Elton),  pp.  231-232. 


GENERAL  SURVEY  27 

Teutonic  God,  Frey,  which  myth  appeared  in  other  forms  in 
Gudrun  and  in  the  legends  of  the  island  of  Sylt. 

Saxo's  narrative  of  Hrolfr  kraki  corresponding  to  the  Biarka- 
mal  furnished  Bugge  the  basis  for  his  interpretation.  Passages 
of  special  significance  for  this  theory  are : 

"For  in  old  time  those  who  were  about  to  put  themselves  in 
dependence  on  the  king  used  to  promise  fealty  by  touching  the 
hilt  of  the  sword. '  '"^ 

"Huge  piles  of  arms  were  muflHed  up  under  diver's  coverings 
and  carried  by  Hiartuar  into  Denmark,  as  if  they  were  tribute ; 
these  would  furnish  a  store  wherewith  to  slay  the  king  by  night. 
So  the  vessels  were  loaded  with  the  mass  of  pretended  tribute, 
and  they  proceeded  to  Leire,  a  town  which  Rolf  had  built  and 
adorned  with  the  richest  treasure  of  his  realm  and  which,  being  a 
royal  foundation  and  a  royal  seat,  surpassed  in  importance  all 
the  cities  of  the  neighboring  districts.  The  king  welcomed  the 
coming  of  Hiartuar  with  a  splendid  banquet,  and  drank  very 
deep,  while  his  guests,  contrary  to  their  custom,  shunned  immod- 
erate tippling.  So  while  all  the  others  were  sleeping  soundly, 
the  Swedes  who  had  been  kept  from  their  ordinary  rest  by  their 
eagerness  on  their  guilty  purpose,  began  furtively  to  slip  down 
from  their  sleeping-rooms.  Straightway  uncovering  the  hidden 
heap  of  weapons,  each  girded  on  his  arms  silently  and  then  went 
to  the  palace.  Bursting  into  the  recesses,  they  drew  their  swords 
vipon  the  sleeping  figures.  "•''^ 

Attention  is  called  to  the  close  parallelism  of  the  opening  lines 
of  the  Fight  at  Finnsburg  and  those  of  the  Biarkamal.  In  the 
latter  Rolf,  the  king,  is  asleep  in  his  hall  after  the  feast,  when 
his  enemies  come.  Biarki  the  warden  rouses  his  comrades,  say- 
ing :^o 

"The  day  is  up,  the  cock's  feathers  are  flapping,  it  is  time  for 
the  sons  of  toil  to  get  to  their  work.  Wake  and  awake,  comrades 
mine,  all  the  noblest  henchmen  of  Adils.  Hoar  with  the  hard 
grip,  Rolf  the  good  areher,  well  born  men  tliat  never  flee.  Not 
to  wine  do  I  wake  you,  nor  to  woman's  spell,  but  I  wake  you  to 
the  stern  play  of  the  war  goddess." 

Bugge  himself  has  pointed  out  that  these  two  Scandiavian 
sources  furnished  him  the  key  for  his  interpretation. 


"Op.  cit.,  p.  81. 

""Op.  cit.,  pp.  70-71. 

'""Corpus  Poeticum  Boreale,"  Vol.  I,  p.  189. 


28  THE  FINNSBUEQ  DOCUMENTS 

The  conflicting  views  of  these  various  schools  of  interpretation 
have  been  carefully  considered  by  Lawrence,^^  who  makes  clear 
the  many  difficulties  barring  the  way  to  a  satisfactorj'  under- 
standing of  the  documents  in  question.  Among  those  difficulties 
he  mentions  particularly  "the  highly  allusive  manner  in  which 
the  story  is  told,  the  unusual  words  and  idioms,  and  the  corrup- 
tions of  the  text."  Although  he  appreciates  the  value  of  at- 
tempts to  explain  "individual  words  or  lines'',  he  believes  that 
the  "chief  end  of  the  study  of  details  is  after  all  that  the  nar- 
rative itself  may  be  better  understood.''  The  foregoing  review 
of  Finnsburg  criticism  sustains  his  conclusion  that  "decision 
in  regard  to  any  one  passage  is  likely  to  depend  upon  the  view 
taken  of  other  passages,  and  of  the  personal  and  ethnographical 
relationships  of  the  different  characters." 

The  greatest  need,  then,  for  an  understanding  of  the  text 
would  seem  to  be  more  acquaintance  with  the  persons  and  tribes 
involved;  in  other  words,  we  should  approximate  as  closely  as 
possible  the  mental  attitude  of  those  to  whom  ' '  Hrothgares  scop 
addressed  the  episode.  Careful  studies  through  chronicles  and 
tales  of  the  various  individuals  concerned  might  throw  light  upon 
dark  places.''-  The  immediate  problem  to  be  worked  out  is  not, 
of  course,  historical  verity,  but  the  popular  conception, — the 
saga  material  of  the  time.  Studies  of  detailed  passages,  such  as 
the  recent  article  by  Alexander  Green'-^  in  "The  Opening  of  the 
Episode  of  Finn  in  Beowulf",  have  an  important  bearing  on  the 
conception  of  the  whole.  In  a  problem  so  difficult  as  that  offered 
by  the  Finnsburg  documents  various  methods  of  approach  may 
well  be  tried;  philology,  metrics,  liistory,  folk  psychology,  chance 
references  in  legend,  ballad,  or  chronicle,  all  are  possible  sources 
of  suggestion.  Similar  situations  in  the  literature  of  kindred 
people  must  certainly  be  considered,  but  no  scholar  should  al- 
low his  special  knowledge  in  one  literature  to  influence  unduly 
his  interpretation  of  another,  as  did  the  earlier  interpreters  of 


"William  Witherle  Lawrence,  "Beowulf  and  the  Tragedv  of  Finnsburg," 
P.  M.  L.  A.,  1915,  372-431. 

"A  study  of  Hengest  is  planned  to  follow  this  monograph,  whi(?h  I  hope 
to  complete  during  the  current  year. 

"Alexander  Green,  "The  Opening  of  the  Episode  of  Finn  in  Beowulf," 
P.  M.  L.  A.,  1916,  759-797. 


GENERAL  SURVEY  29 

the  Finnsburg  tale,  who  regaj'ded  it  simply  as  a  "distorted 
record"  or  "poetic  version"  of  sometliiug  else. 

Both  the  episode  and  the  fragment  carry  a  convincing  impres- 
sion of  first  hand  saga  material,  and  tlie  vei-y  fact  that  the  tale 
has  been  connected  by  various  interpi-eters  with  so  many  differ- 
ent legends  helps  to  prove  that  it  is  not  a  part  of  any.  Doubtless 
the  elements  that  have  led  critics  to  make  these  various  claims, — 
that  it  springs  from  the  myth  of  Frey,  that  it  is  a  variant  of  the 
Ingeld  narrative,  that  it  gives  an  imaginative  description  of  an 
event  chronicled  by  Saxo,  that  it  echoes  the  l^iarkamal,  that  it  is 
another  treatment  of  tlie  Gudrun  theme, — ai-e  the  elements  that 
are  characteristic  of  its  time,  that  gave  it  popular  appeal  to  its 
age.  It  is  the  combination  of  these  elements  together  with  tlie 
challenge  of  its  enigmatic  language  and  allusions  that  makes  it 
especially  interesting  to  the  modern  scholar  of  Old  English. 


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G.  Hickes.  "Linguarum  Septentrionalium  Thesaurus."  Oxford. 

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K.  W.  Bouterwek.  "Das  Beowulflied. "  Germania,  I,  p.  389. 

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